


Fall Out

by MedieavalBeabe



Series: Cliched Titles For Your Relationship With Peter Maximoff [7]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Attempted Molestation, Drinking, Fluff, Gen, Implied Smut, Peter Has No Respect For Personal Space, apocalypse au, argument, but that's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 13:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19476628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: After a big row, largely over what you're going to do now you've left school, you and Peter split up, only to find you miss each other too much to let something like this come between you...





	Fall Out

You downed your shot and signalled to the barkeep for another one. Fuck it, you were old enough to drink in the UK even if you were meant to wait another three years over here, but this guy didn’t seem to care as long as he got paid. You weren’t really overly keen on the stuff, but it was the cheapest booze this place had to offer and you were experimenting to see if drinking really could drown your sorrows and make you feel better.

So far it wasn’t working.

The tiny, dingy bar that also doubled as a strip club on weekends wasn’t somewhere you’d been before tonight, having never had any need to, but you’d been feeling so lousy this past week and a half that tonight it had just called to you. Something told you that no matter how much of this cheap vodka you downed, you weren’t going to forget what had driven you in here for a long time, or rather, who.

Peter.

Your thoughts kept drifting back to him whatever you did, wherever you were. It’s like he’s in your bloodstream and no amount of vodka can wash him out again. In your slightly intoxicated state, part of you wants to rush to his house and fall onto his sofa in the basement, breathe in his scent again and immerse yourself in him. But you can’t, not after what happened.

It had started innocently enough. One week and a half ago, you’d been down in his basement together, as usual, neither knowing that you were about to rush into the biggest argument of your lives, one that was going to tear you apart. Peter had been a bit edgy all week anyway; it had started when you’d casually mentioned one day that it was a pity that he didn’t have his father’s contact details because it was kind of weird that he’d done pretty well on his finals and he couldn’t tell him. Of course, Peter had responded with a stubborn, and somewhat bitter “Why would I want him to know? He’s just some jerk who ran off when my Mom was pregnant with me!” and this had set off a little debate between the two of you that had ended as quickly as it had begun.

But then it had happened. You’d got your letters back from the universities you’d applied too, all of them acceptance letters at that, and your parents really wanted you to go to one of them. But you’d also sent an application letter off to the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters, and you hadn’t heard back at that point. Your English teacher had been the one to tell you about that, having heard about the internship there from a friend of a friend and had secured the details for you, which meant all you had to do was send a letter and wait. Now was the time to be deciding where you wanted to go, although you’d already made up your mind that if Charles Xavier accepted your application you were going to take it, feeling it was your calling to tutor other Mutants.

Peter, on the other hand, wasn’t sure of where he wanted to go and had decided to spend a bit of time travelling to “find himself” before applying anywhere. Somehow this conversation had never come up in your time together before, both of you under the impression that the other one of you wanted the same thing as you, and so when it finally did, well, it didn’t really go the way you were expecting.

_When you showed Peter your response letters, his expression kind of fell and his voice was kind of tight as he said “So...which are you going to choose?”_

_“I don’t know,” you admitted. “I mean, my parents are favouring...” You tap the first letter you opened, its university title spelled out in blue and gold letters at the top. “But truth be told, I’m not sure I want to pick any of them.”_

_“So don’t!” Peter shrugged. “Take a year out, come with me! We could go anywhere with my power!”_

_You stared at him. “Peter, I can’t.”_

_“Why, because your parents don’t want you to?” His expression hardened. “When are you going to do what you want for a change, (Y/N)?”_

_“That’s not fair,” you protested. “I wasn’t planning on doing any travelling anyway!”_

_“Right.” Peter looked away from you. “So, you’re just gonna spend your whole life studying, then?”_

_“Well...” You blinked as he was suddenly on his feet, pacing, although Peter’s pacing is what everyone else would call zipping back and forth around the room. “What did you think was going to happen, Peter?” Alright, you were a little on edge too, after all he’d just accused you of being some puppet letting your parents control your life all the time. “After we left school, did you think we’d just...not do anything for the rest of our lives?”_

_“Of course not!” Peter stopped right in front of you. “I just assumed we wanted the same things!”_

_“Well, so did I!” You snapped. “Is it my fault you’re too impatient when it comes to studying?”_

_“Spending another three years stuck in classes and being talked at by inane people isn’t exactly my idea of fun!” Peter returned. “Besides, I don’t even know what it is I want to do yet, there’s no point going through several years of something I’m not interested in!”_

_Somehow that didn’t surprise you. “So...what? You’re just going to move about until an idea hits you?”_

_“Pretty much, yeah!”_

_You shook your head. “Well, I can’t do that, Peter! I want something more out of life than just fun!”_

_“Clearly,” Peter muttered, folding his arms._

_You bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”_

_“You spend more time studying than you do anything else!”_

_“Oh, well, excuse me for wanting to be educated!”_

_“Are you saying I don’t want that?”_

_“I’m saying you don’t seem to care!”_

_Your gazes were locked, both of you being as stubborn as the other. You’d had spats before but not like this. Then, Peter turned away. “I knew this was going to happen one day. People always leave, why should you be any different?”_

_Your jaw dropped because you’d always thought that Peter knew you better than that by now. Then, quickly pulling yourself together, you challenged “Well, why did you ask me out if you knew this was going to happen?”_

_“I don’t know!” Peter snapped, whirling to face you again. “Maybe I shouldn’t have!”_

_That stung more than anything but you put on a brave face as you returned “And maybe I shouldn’t have said “yes!”_

_There was a whiff of air and Peter was gone. Where, you had no idea, to yell out his troubles or whatever, and you didn’t really care either. “That’s it, Maximoff,” you added, cuttingly, in case he could still hear you, “just run away like you always do!” Then, you grabbed your stuff and rushed out of his house, in tears._

Of course, your parents tried to convince you that it wasn’t over between the two of you, that when you’d both cooled down you’d be able to talk it over and work it out, but you knew they were wrong. How could you and Peter sort your relationship out when you couldn’t even agree on how you were going to spend your future together? It was over, you knew it.

Peter certainly hadn’t come knocking on your door to apologise and you were certain that meant he was never going to. So you’d given up waiting and decided to move on. Your letter from Charles Xavier had come two days ago, offering you an interview at the mansion in a few days time and you’re going to accept it. Peter can do what he likes with his life, because you really don’t care.

Except...you do. You miss being part of his life, and having him in yours. But you’re not sure if this is still love or just you trying to cling onto the remains of the only relationship you’ve ever had.

You decide to take one more shot and then go home. There’s a guy watching you a little way away across the bar and you don’t like it, so you down the last glass, settle up and leave. The night air is cool but makes you feel lightheaded against the alcohol you’ve just consumed. Automatically, you wish Peter would come and rush you home, carry you into his basement, put you to bed, kiss you and...and then what? You two hadn’t got as far as going all the way before you split up, which is probably just as well, because it proves that Peter wanted you for more than just sex when he asked you out.

Why did he do that, then? If he knew you’d leave? Why?

Perhaps it was his insecurities talking. You knew he was still on edge about your mention of his father, although you have no idea why.

“Nice night for it.”

You look up to see the guy from the bar walking towards you, smiling. His voice is pleasant and charming and he’s not bad looking, but he has nothing on Peter, and besides which you just want to go home without any incident.

“Sure, whatever,” you mumble, quickening your pace a little and hoping he’ll take the hint. Unfortunately he takes this as a sign to start walking alongside you and you groan inwardly.

“Hey, wait, what’s your hurry?”

You don’t like his smile, in fact you’re reminded of Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf for the first time. “I have to get home.”

“Oh? Where do you live?”

“That’s none of your business.” You try to hurry your pace a little but the alcohol’s made your legs turn to lead and it feels like no matter how fast you go it’s not fast enough. Still, you emerge from the alley that leads to the bar and into your familiar street. You can make out your house from here even in this dim light, but you don’t want to lead this stranger to where you live. Why can’t he just go away?

“Aw, come on, don’t be like that!” He suddenly reaches out and grabs your arm.

“Let go of me!” you exclaim, trying to wriggle free.

“Come on, I know a better bar than the one we were just in-”

“Just get off!”

Something grabs you around the waist and whirls you away from the creep. You look up to see Peter standing between the pair of you, and whilst his presence isn’t particularly threatening, the creeper is clearly uncomfortable now that someone else has turned up.

“I believe she said she wasn’t interested,” Peter says, darkly, glaring at the guy. You look down and see his hands curling into fists, just in case the guy doesn’t go, and you feel a sudden stab of panic, because if a fight breaks out, this guy looks like he could flatten Peter with one punch.

Luckily, the creep takes the hint this time. “Alright, easy, I didn’t realise your little friend was taken.”

“M’not,” you mumble, though neither of them hear you.

The guy turns and walks back down the alley, with Peter glaring at him the whole time until he’s out of sight. Then, he turns to you, his scowl still prominent. _“(Y/N),_ what were you thinking being out alone this time of night? It’s not safe!”

You blink, sudden anger flaring up inside you. “That’s not your concern anymore, Peter! You made that very clear!” Peter takes a step back because your fury’s coming out like lava from a volcano. “Which is exactly why I’m out here at night alone!”

“Well, I thought you were smarter than that!”

Scowling, you shove past him, making for your house. “What are you even doing out here anyway? I thought you’d be “travelling to find yourself” by now!” You stumble as your foot falls off the edge of the pavement into the gutter. Peter’s next to you in a second, grabbing your arm and waist to steady you. Glancing up, you note his concerned expression and the worried look in those brown eyes you fell for a long time ago. “Thanks,” you mutter, pulling away.

Peter’s shoulders slump. _“(Y/N),_ I miss you.”

This is the last thing you need to be hearing right now, the way you’re feeling. “You miss me?” You turn to face him properly. _“You_ miss me? I...no, Peter, you can’t just come back into my life and tell me you miss me when you were the one who said you shouldn’t have asked me out in the first place!”

“Yeah, because I was mad and I thought I was losing you, not because I stopped loving you!”

You sway slightly on the spot. “W-what? You still love me?”

“Of course I still love you!” Peter folds his arms and sighs. “I was stupid for saying that and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“You didn’t tell me that at the time,” you point out, still feeling unsteady.

“No, I know.” Peter sighs again and steps closer to you. “Because I was scared of your reaction, and...the longer I left it, the harder it became. I know, I’m stupid and a complete coward and I don’t deserve you but I’m still in love with you and I’m always gonna be.”

“I...” You rub your head, your thoughts turning fuzzy. “Peter, I really don’t know what to say, I mean, I don’t know if there’s a future for us now-”

“Look, you should go to college if it’s what you want. I don’t want to be what holds you back.” Peter grabs your shoulders, making you look up at him. “We’d make it work somehow-”

“No, Peter, I don’t know how I feel right now,” you say, stepping back out of his touch. “I mean, part of me wants to punch you in the face and the other part of me wants to hug you, and I don’t know what that means. I don’t know...if I’m still in love with you. I’m sorry, I know that row was half my fault too, and I need to think about this...” You look over at your house, wondering if you can manage to stagger to it unaided, and decide that you can’t. “Could...could you walk me home? Please?”

Peter nods, although you can tell he’s upset but putting on a brave face. “Of course.”

Uneasily, the two of you fall into step, an uncomfortable silence settling around you. Simply to break it, you blurt “It’s not what I want.”

“What?”

“Going to university. I’ve applied for an internship at the School for Mutants and they want me for an interview.” You stare straight ahead. “If I get it, I’m going to take it.”

“Wow...” Peter actually sounds impressed. “That’s...pretty incredible.” There’s a pause and then he adds “Congratulations, I hope you get it.”

“Thanks.” You offer him a shaky smile. “My parents were pretty proud.”

Peter looks away. “I’m sorry I accused you of only doing what they wanted. That was out of line. Well, you know, I’m sorry for everything I said that night but you were right, that wasn’t fair.”

“Yeah, well, I said some pretty harsh stuff too,” you shrug. “And I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

This should be the end of it; it should end with Peter grabbing your hand and you throwing your arms around his neck and the pair of you kissing, but...it doesn’t, because what you said just now was true, you don’t know whether you still have feelings for Peter in the same way, and it can’t be enough just to base your relationship on missing him. You really do need to think about all this.

You reach your house, and subconsciously you glance towards Peter’s, wondering if his mother’s home, imagining his sisters are probably dead to the world right now. Taking a deep breath, you finally look up at him. “Thanks, Peter.”

There’s more in that thank you than just a “thanks for walking me home,” and you hope he knows it. After all, he did just save you from a creeper, even though he didn’t have to. Peter nods. “You’re welcome.”

The fallen expression still remains on his face. You bite your lip. “I really just need time...to think about this...”

Peter nods again. “Take all the time you need.” It kind of hurts that he’s being so understanding about this. You’re about to go in when he grabs your waist and kisses you, and not a quick kiss either, one of those lingering ones he always gives you when dropping you off. You know you probably ought to pull away but you can’t help submitting and kissing him back. Eventually, you pull apart and you blink up at him. “That...wasn’t me trying to influence your decision or anything. I just wanted to do that one last time.”

It’s your turn to nod as you step out of his grip and reach for the door handle. “Goodnight, Peter.”

“Night, _(Y/N).”_

You hear him speed off the second you close the door, his natural instincts to make sure you get in alright and then leave kicking in again. You stumble into bed and fall into a somewhat undisturbed sleep, but you’re woken by the sudden need to go to the bathroom. You glance at the clock. It’s past midnight but now you’re wide awake. Bleary-eyed, you pay a visit to the bathroom and wander back into your room, your mind wandering back to Peter.

True, there is a part of you that’s still a little annoyed at him, but then again you’re annoyed at yourself for letting this argument still bother you. On the other hand, this is also your first falling out, and heck, if there’s a way for the pair of you to get through it, then it’s got to be worth fighting for. If you get through this together, you can get through anything.

You sit in silence for a moment, eyes closed, trying to determine how you feel deep down, whether your feelings have changed. You felt something when Peter said he still loved you, like the feeling you’d always get before when he said it, right before you’d say it back. But was that just automatic response, or was it real?

After a few minutes, you come to a conclusion and spring up, grabbing your bag out of habit. As you sprint down to the front door, you quickly leave a note telling your parents where you’ve gone and not to worry, before rushing out and making your way over to Peter’s house, although you hesitate at the front door. It’s not really fair to knock and wake Magda up at this time of night, but this is important, she has to understand that.

You knock twice and then wait, hoping you won’t have to knock again. When nothing happens, you raise your hand to knock a second time but then the door opens and Magda peeks her head out. “Oh.” Her eyes are bleary and unfocused but she recognises you and lowers the pan she’s holding, a makeshift weapon in case you were a dangerous intruder. Now you feel _really_ bad for waking her. “It’s you, _(Y/N).”_

“I’m sorry to wake you, Magda, but I really need to talk to Peter right now,” you say.

She nods. “Of course. Come in, he’s downstairs.”

“Thanks.” You scoot past her and hurry down to Peter’s basement. He’s sacked out beneath the covers, it seems almost a shame to wake him but you have to, he needs to know. You sit down and shake him gently. “Peter! Peter, wake up!”

It takes a few shakes but the second he realises what’s going on, he’s wide awake and sitting up in front of you. _“(Y/N)?_ Hey, what’s up?”

You take a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking...about us, and...you know, no matter how hard I try to deny it, I...”

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Peter cuts in.

“You do?”

“Yeah.” Peter looks away. You frown, wondering why he’s not happy. “I guess it was inevitable, really.” He looks back at you. “We had a good run, though, I mean we lasted longer than most in our school, and I guess-”

You cut him off by placing a finger over his lips. “Peter, no matter how hard I try to deny it, I’m still in love with you.” You drop your hand and offer him a smile because he looks kind of bewildered and that’s kind of cute. “If that’s okay...”

It takes a second, maybe even less, for Peter to realise what you’re saying before he grabs you, pulls you onto his lap and kisses you. You fling your arms around his neck and return it with equal passion. Your hands grip at each other’s clothing in an effort to remain as close to one another as possible. Eventually, you part, and Peter brushes a strand of hair out of your eyes, his own watching you intently.

“This is it now? You and me?”

“Forever,” you whisper.

You kiss again, just as fiercely this time, and something stirs within you. Pulling back slightly, you shrug off your cardigan. The next thing you know, Peter’s shirt has hit the floor and you’re in the middle of tugging off your own before he stops you, his hands going to yours as he realises where this is going.

_“(Y/N)..._ are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” you whisper. “I’m ready, Peter.” That’s the only confirmation either of you needs, although before it goes much further, you pull back and add “Um, have you got any...you know?”

“Just give me one second,” Peter promises, rolling you off him. He’s back before you even notice he’s gone, a full box of condoms now lying between the pair of you. You’re about to ask if he stole them before you realise you don’t care anymore as he tugs you back into his lap and keeps on kissing you. The rest of your clothing quickly joins your cardigan and Peter’s shirt and there’s touching and more kissing and then...then, the magical bit.

(Honestly, that’s how you’d describe your first time, well, your first of three times that night with Peter, magical. It was like everything you’d ever read about it or seen in films couldn’t do justice to how it felt in real life.)

Afterwards, you curl up beside him, his arms wrapped securely around you, trying to quell the feeling of euphoria bubbling within you. You think you’re about to fall asleep when you hear Peter murmur _“(Y/N)?”_

“Hm?”

“I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t fall asleep on me.” Peter prods your shoulder, grinning. “This is important.”

“Okay, I’m awake,” you insist, looking up at him. “What is it?”

Peter averts his eyes, momentarily, before flickering them back to you. “I know who my father is. I’ve known for a long time.”

You frown, sitting up slightly in his arms. “How come you didn’t tell me before?”

“Because I thought you’d think badly of me for it.”

“Why?”

“Magneto.”

“Sorry?”

“Magneto, he’s my father.”

Your eyes widen. “Peter, are you sure?”

“I know it.” He shifts against you. “I met him, not long before we started going out...but I didn’t tell him. I was going to but...for some reason I couldn’t.” He glances at you. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to you before.”

“But, Peter,” you shake your head, “you’re nothing like him. You’ve never done any of the things he’s done.” You reach up and kiss him. “I mean...you just use your powers to steal stuff, right, not hurt people?”

Peter visibly relaxes, kissing your forehead. “I love you, _(Y/N).”_

“I love you too, Peter.” You rubbed your shoulder with one arm where you were starting to get goosebumps. Now you were lying still, you were noticing that the temperature down in Peter’s basement wasn’t exactly like being outside on a summer’s day.

“Are you cold?” Peter asks.

“A little bit.”

The next thing you know Peter’s grabbed his shirt and is holding it out to you. “Here, put this on.”

You laugh, softly, accepting it. “Thanks, but it’ll probably be too big.”

“So?” Peter grins as you wriggle into it. “You look cute.”

You smile and snuggle up to him again. “Thank you.”

This time, you do fall asleep and Peter lets you, determined never to let you out of his life again. He soon falls asleep after you and come morning you’re still snuggled beside him wearing his shirt, your hair falling in your eyes again. You look adorable when you sleep. Peter brushes your hair away and kisses your forehead, and you stir slightly but don’t wake. He decides to let you wake up on your own and quickly gets dressed, his small television showing the news in the background, turned down so it won’t wake you.

Then a news report about Magneto flashes up and he sits down to watch. It seems his father is once again terrorising people, this time somewhere in Poland.

“If anyone has any information about Lehnsherr, or as he is also known, Magneto, contact your local authorities immediately, and proceed with caution as he is considered extremely dangerous,” the reporter concludes.

“Peter?”

He quickly changes the channel and darts to the Pac-Man machine, glancing in your direction. But you’re still fast asleep. Magda makes her way down the stairs and Peter makes a motion of “Be quiet,” before gesturing over to you. Thankfully, Magda’s the type of mother who’s cool with the idea of you and Peter getting physical under her roof, provided you’re careful, so she nods and lowers her voice. “I’m checking on you.”

“I’m good, playing Pac-Man, waiting for _(Y/N)_ to get up.”

“Are you sure you weren’t watching this?” Magda picks up the remote and turns the TV back to the news report. She looks at her son. “You’re going after him, aren’t you?”

“You wanted me to get out of the house more, right?” Peter shrugs.

“I can’t stop you.”

“Nobody can.”

Magda shakes her head. “Trust me, this won’t end well. Nothing does with him.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” Peter insists.

“You should be.” Magda starts to walk back up the stairs again but pauses. “You two used protection, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Peter waits for her to go before sitting on the bed and flicking the TV back off. You roll over and rub your eyes. With a grin, Peter grabs an unopened Twinkie and offers it to you. “Hi. Hungry?”

“Twinkies for breakfast?” You smile, sleepily and take it. “Why am I not surprised?”

Peter grabs another for himself and flops down beside you. “Fancy going to check out the mansion today? You know, ‘cause you’re gonna have an interview there, might as well at least find out what it looks like.”

You glance at him, unable to stop yourself wondering if he’s got a hidden agenda there. But so what? At least he’s being supportive. “Sure. Why not?”

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

**Author's Note:**

> [[I may have to call this AU because I'm not sure how old Peter's meant to be when we first meet him in DOFP, mainly because I haven't seen that one yet, and in Apocalypse, he tells Raven that he met Magneto "ten years ago," when DOFP took place and then Dark Phoenix takes place nine years after Apocalypse. If Peter's in his teens in DOFP, then he must be in his twenties by the time of Apocalypse, and then somewhere in his early thirties in Dark Phoenix. While that's believable, I've already made him eighteen in this one, so let's say in this universe he met Magneto a few years ago rather than ten. Otherwise he'd have been eight in DOFP.]]


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